Briefly the present invention relates to a produce container for holding and shipping upstanding product such as asparagus or onions. More particularly, the invention relates to a corrugated paperboard container for such produce items which can be assembled in the field from a unitary blank of paperboard material.
Corrugated paperboard containers are commonly used to pack and ship upstanding produce items such as asparagus and green onions and usually these containers are larger at the bottom than at the top. State of the art corrugated containers are usually comprised of two pieces where the bottom member may be formed from a cut and scored single blank to form a base with upstanding side walls and an open top, while the cover of the container is a telescoping piece that slides over the exterior walls of the bottom piece after the produce is placed within the bottom portion. Oftentimes, these containers are held together using staples or straps for permanent assembly prior to packing in the field. It was found desirable to have a produce container fabricated from a single unitary blank of corrugated paperboard material which could be erected in the field without the necessity of mechanical equipment. In such a case the scored and cut blanks are distributed to field locations where the produce is growing and field workers can conveniently harvest the produce, erect the container in the field using hand assembly and then immediately pack the produce therein while the container is in a partially erected state.
With such a unitary foldable corrugated paperboard blank, necessary designed features should include ease of assembly using the folding and locking features provided while the same time holding the produced so it does not easily fall out. Another extremley important requirement is that the erected container while holding the produce yield good stacking strength and, therefore, good, strong vertical corners are essential. These general types of corrugated paperboard containers are commonly wax saturated for use in chilled water shower cooling system whereby the packed produce is cooled prior to shipment. Such a cooling technique allows the produce to be shipped longer distances and then distributed to retail outlets while retaining its pleasant appearance and freshness.
Another requirement these types of containers have is that they be properly vented so as to allow free circulation of cooling air to the product after packing.
Accordingly, from the foregoing one object of the present invention is to provide a papreboard container suitable for packing upstanding produce or the like.
Another object of this invention is to provide such a paperboard container which can be hand erected in the field from a unitary cut and scored blank.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide such a unitary blank where the erection process and packing of the produce eliminates the need for staples or extraneous straps.
Still a further object of this invention is to provide such a single-piece paperboard container which has suitable stacking strength, suitable venting means, and other known requirements for packing and transporting upstanding produce and the like.
These and other objects of the invention will be better understood upon reading the specification to follow in conjunction with the attached drawings.